


through the rain

by scattered_dream



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Depression, Developing Relationship, Eating Disorder Recovery, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Insomnia, M/M, Online Romance, Panic Attacks, Social Anxiety, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2020-03-02 19:38:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18817633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scattered_dream/pseuds/scattered_dream
Summary: Title comes from a song by Sia Furler entitled 'Rainbow' - the full lyric is'I am here and I see your pain / through the storms, through the clouds, the rain.'I found these lyrics very fitting for this story.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Neko_Positive](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_Positive/gifts), [Luna1290](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna1290/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title comes from a song by Sia Furler entitled 'Rainbow' - the full lyric is _'I am here and I see your pain / through the storms, through the clouds, the rain.'_ I found these lyrics very fitting for this story.

"I feel like we should all be smoking cigars," Aranea laughed, tossing her long silver hair over her shoulder with finesse as she surveyed the other occupants of the bar. 

"What makes you say that?" Gladio chuckled, idly playing with the empty glass in front of him, turning it in circles between his palms. 

"Look around - " she gestured vaguely, trying not to draw attention to the fact that she was blatantly judging those around her. "This just seems like one of those establishments where middle-aged day-drinkers come to smoke and talk about how their love life is in the toilet, how they can't hold onto a steady job, or how much they hate their in-laws... you know, a real  _classy_  joint." 

She turned a little in her stool to watch a man at least thirty years her senior scrub a hand over his face as he called grumpily to the bartender, asking for _'another one,'_ in a rather bitter tone. 

Gladio followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Ahh," he mumbled, nodding his head slowly. "That guy doesn't have a cigar, though," he pointed out. 

Aranea nodded her head to indicate a group of men sitting around a table playing cards, smoking cigars just as she'd mentioned. From the looks of it, they were exactly the type of people to which she was referring. 

Even Ignis shook his head and smiled at that, something that didn't go unnoticed by Gladio, who was finding it quite natural for his gaze to drift over to the slightly younger man. It had happened too many times to count throughout their evening so far. 

He clapped his hands together, satisfied when Ignis's eyes shot up to look at him. It appeared he'd successfully captured his attention. 

"Time for another round of drinks," he announced. "And it's _not_ sad for us because we're young and we're gonna have dinner here, too," he laughed. Aranea nodded in agreement, smirking at the way Ignis sighed. 

"Must you two always have so many drinks when we go out?" he asked, sounding just the slightest bit exasperated. 

"Psh, we haven't had _that_ much to drink, Iggy. We want to have _fun_. You could afford to loosen up a little too, babe," he smirked, and his open flirting showcased his being tipsy already. 

A red flush crept up Ignis's neck and he swallowed, looking down at the table. Gladio grinned as his friend ignored him and pretended to study the menu. 

Aranea snorted at the both of them. "Could they be any more _obvious?"_ she muttered under her breath, leaning over to nudge Noctis in the shoulder as she continued studying her idiotic friends who wouldn't admit their feelings for each other if their life depended on it, quite apparently. 

To her surprise, Noctis didn't offer a sassy retort, or even an agreeable laugh. She turned to look at him, noting the way his face lit up when he read a message on his phone. 

"Ah, I see. Texting your boyfriend," she rolled her eyes. That got him to look up at her. 

"Not my boyfriend," he clarified with slumped shoulders. His eyes fell back onto his phone a second later, where Aranea could see three dots forming in a small gray bubble, indicating his _not_ -boyfriend was typing. 

"You _wish_ he were your boyfriend," she added helpfully. 

"I _wish_  he were my boyfriend," he agreed, his bangs fluttering in front of his eyes when he let out a dramatic sigh. 

Aranea picked up her menu and scanned for a bacon burger, murmuring something about all her friends being idiots. 

"They have a vegetarian burger, Iggy, if you wanna try that," Gladio suggested. 

Ignis let him reach over and point it out on his individual menu. "Thank you," he said politely. He gave him a grateful smile before dragging his gaze away from hazy, warm brown eyes. 

Aranea laughed at Noctis, still watching him as he texted his friend back enthusiastically. "You seem awfully happy," she commented with a small smile on her face. It quickly turned into a smirk when she added, "What, did he send you a dick pic?" 

Noctis kicked her shin while she continued to laugh. His face heated up at the words and he shook his head, embarrassment clear in his voice when he answered - "No, obviously not! He hasn't sent me any pictures of himself at all; I don't think the first one he sends is gonna be of his dick." 

Aranea smiled. "True enough. But you know what he looks like, right? He's told you?" 

Noctis perked up, smile growing wider. "He said he's short, although I'm not sure how short. He's blonde, he has lots of freckles, blue eyes, and last week he got his septum pierced - " he began to rattle off dreamily. 

Gladio laughed and put up a hand to stop him. "Okay, okay. Why doesn't he send you any pictures of himself?" he asked curiously. 

Noctis hesitated, trying to explain without going into too much detail about his online companion. He didn't want to tell them everything just yet. "He's really insecure. He has  _very_ low self-esteem," he answered, settling on the shorter version of the full story. 

Prompto had told him much more than that, but Noctis didn't feel like it was his place to blab to his friends about Prompto's distinct lack of self-worth. His hope was that one day, all five of them - Prompto, Gladio, Ignis, Aranea, and himself - could get together and hang out. He knew that his newest friend would fit right into their little group. One of his goals was to ensure that Prompto would eventually feel as safe and comfortable with the others as Noctis did. 

But that would probably be a long ways off; after all, Noctis hadn't even met Prompto in person yet. He avidly looked forward to the day he could finally _officially_ meet him - the fellow University student who had quickly become one of his best friends. (Not to mention that he had _quite_  the crush on said boy.) 

"Why don't you just ask him out already?" Aranea asked after she’d determined what she wanted to order. 

Noctis groaned and locked his phone, shoving it into his pocket. His friend raised an eyebrow at the action. "He had to go to work," he explained quickly, completely aware of the pout on his face and the not-so-subtle disappointment in his tone. 

"So?" she asked, giving him an expectant look. 

"I don't know..." he started, trailing off when she rolled her eyes at him. 

"I want a better answer than that," she demanded in her classic no-nonsense tone. 

Ignis and Gladio listened on, curious themselves as to why Noctis hadn't asked Prompto out on a date yet. 

"I'm just nervous, I guess. And I don't even know if he likes me that way," he admitted. 

"Alright, that's it," Aranea huffed and held out a hand impatiently. "Cough it up. I wanna read some of your texts." 

Noctis's eyes went wide. "Uh I don't - " He cut himself off when he got an intimidating glare from his long-time friend. She could be really scary when she wanted to be. He sighed as he took his phone out again, unlocking it and handing it over. 

"Don't read _everything,_ " he said sternly. "Some of it is really private, you know? Just... personal stuff that he's told me, stuff I don't think he'd want me to show you guys, okay?" 

Aranea raised her eyebrows at the serious tone, but nodded in affirmation as she scrolled up just a bit to scan the texts from earlier that day. 

"Can I just read the messages you guys exchanged today?" she asked, just to be sure. It wasn't her intention to invade Prompto's privacy (even if she didn't know him yet). 

Noctis thought for a moment and then nodded. "Sure," he conceded quietly. 

He bit his lip as his friend began to scroll through his and Prompto's earlier messages, gulping at the smug smile upon her face the further back she looked. 

"Oh, honey. You have _nothing_ to worry about," Aranea said with her hand clutched to her heart as she grinned back at Noctis. 

He blinked in surprise. "Really? I mean, I'd like to _think_ he likes me back ... but how can you be so sure?" he asked sheepishly. 

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, eyes bulging. "You guys have been flirting back and forth in all of these messages! And that's just _today!"_

Noctis spluttered indignantly as Gladio burst out laughing. He chanced a glance over at his other companion, and even _Ignis_  looked vaguely amused. 

"Wait, he was flirting with me?" he asked, shocked in the happiest way. 

Aranea gave him a look that suggested he was quite possibly the dumbest person on Eos. She resisted the urge to smack herself in the forehead as she muttered ' _Boys...'_ under her breath. 

Gladio leaned over, asking if he could see the messages for himself, but she shook her head. "Nah, this calls for a dramatic reading," she laughed, thoroughly enjoying the way Noct's face was steadily turning redder. 

"Nea..." he protested weakly, but hearing Aranea clear her throat with emphasis affirmed that his whining wasn't going to help him at all. 

She picked one section of their messages from earlier that afternoon, alternating voices from a bored-sounding Noctis to - she assumed from the tone of his messages - a much more chipper Prompto as she read some of the texts they'd exchanged. 

> 13:54 **yeah fucking freezing! so sick of the winter weather.**
> 
> 13:55 _Ikr, it sucks!! Would be so much better if I had someone to cuddle with!! ;)_
> 
> 13:56 **aw, if only we were together!**
> 
> 13:56 _You like cuddling?? :D_
> 
> 13:57  **i mean i've never had anyone to do that with**
> 
> 13:57 **but it sounds nice :)**
> 
> 13:58  _Yeah same. But it's something I'd like to do with you_ _ (*^ω^*)  _
> 
> 13:58 **rly?** ** ^ - ^ **
> 
> 13:59  _Of course!! Snuggling up under a blanket, drinking hot cocoa together, being in your arms... what could be better?? :D_
> 
> 13:59  _Haha sorry if that sounds stupid, it's okay if you wouldn't want to do any of that with me lol_
> 
> 14:00  **i definitely want that, Prompto. would love to hold you <3 **
> 
> 14:01 **you're so cute.**
> 
> 14:01 _ >_< Nah. But thank you anyway <3 _

Gladio was shaking with silent laughter, pointing at Noctis, who had rested his forehead against his arms on the table as his cheeks burned. Ignis chuckled to himself while Aranea cackled. _"Wow,_ Noct. _Subtle!"_ she joked sarcastically. 

"Shut up," Noctis snapped, bringing his head back up and smacking her on the arm half-heartedly. He wasn't _really_ annoyed, just embarrassed at being scrutinized by his friends. 

"Damn, how long have you guys been talking now?" Gladio asked amusedly. 

"We started talking at the end of November," he responded easily, as if he knew the exact date on which he'd first messaged Prompto by heart (which he did). "So... almost three months, I guess," he added, trying to look nonchalant as he shrugged. 

Aranea gestured for the bartender, sure they were are all ready to order by now, and Noctis sighed. He mentally prepared himself for the next hour or so of listening to his friends berate him for not having the balls to ask Prompto out. 


	2. Prompto ☀

Prompto was on his second hour of playing Kingdom Hearts II, sitting criss-crossed on his bed in front of his television, wrapped in three fuzzy blankets, bright blue Playstation controller in hand, when his phone started buzzing on his desk. 

He quickly paused the game and set his controller down, tripping over his makeshift coat of blankets that hung past his ankles as he walked over to check who could possibly be calling him at 21:30. It wasn't the fact that it was night time - nine thirty wasn't particularly _late,_  especially on a Saturday - but nobody really called him, at all. _Ever._  Not even his parents. 

His heart clenched unpleasantly in his ribcage at the name printed on the screen.

Seifer didn't strike Prompto as a person who enjoyed light-hearted banter over the phone. He cleared his throat and swiped his thumb across the screen to answer the call. 

"Hello?" Prompto asked, hearing the slight uneasiness in his own voice just from the customary one-word greeting. 

 _Calm down. Everything's probably fine. You're worrying for no reason,_ he tried to tell himself, but his apprehension remained nonetheless. 

"Prompto," came the low voice through his phone. While Prompto considered Seifer his closest friend (and well, his _only_ friend, really), he would be the first to admit that he wasn't exactly _comforting_ to talk to. Seifer had this quality to his voice that always made Prompto feel on edge. And when he'd addressed him just now, his tone was rather clipped. That could only mean Prompto was in trouble; he must have done something wrong. 

Seifer was intimidating at the _best_ of times, so Prompto gulped past the lump in his throat as he asked, "What's up?" He aimed for a cheerful tone, but it came out mousier than he would have liked. "You don't usually call... Everything alright?" 

His slightly older friend cut him off with a laugh that held no humour in its sharpness. "No, it's not alright," he started, sounding more than a little irritated. 

"Wh - what?" Prompto asked through his breathing that had already taken on a shaky quality. 

"I don't know if you get this, but it's kind of annoying how often you don't bother to show up to hang out with us anymore." Seifer paused for all of two seconds to let that sink in before he spat, "Do you _understand_ that or should I repeat myself?" 

Prompto knew exactly to what Seifer was referring; he didn't need a reiteration of any sort, or even any further explanation. He didn't feel offended at the clear condescension in his tone, because all he could focus on at the present moment were his heart rapidly picking up speed and his mind reeling. He didn't even know how to react or what to say. 

He gnawed on his lip anxiously as Seifer continued without preamble, "You always feed us your lame-ass excuses. Nerves, anxiety, panic attacks," - he listed them off flippantly - "The same old  _bullshit_. It's getting fucking obnoxious. No one wants to hear you whine about your anxiety anymore, Prompto. _Everyone_ is sick of it, Fuu and Rai included." 

He supposed Fuu and Rai might be considered friends of his, too, but he really only knew them through Seifer. When Prompto showed up to spend time with Seifer, the three of them were usually already together. He didn't mind, of course; Seifer had been friends with them since he was very young, meaning Prompto was the newest addition to their group. He had no qualms with either Fuu or Rai; they came across as a little eccentric when he'd first met them, but they were both _much_ nicer to Prompto than Seifer had ever been. Still, Prompto had never felt like they were close enough that he could just ask _them_ to hang out; he always waited to be invited by Seifer. 

Lately, however, Prompto  _had_ been rather flaky with plans; he'd say he would be there when they asked if he wanted to go skateboarding or go out for lunch, only to cancel an hour or so before they had planned to meet up. Usually, it wasn't too much of a big deal because Seifer, Fuu, and Rai could just as easily have a good time without him being there. That being said, it was still something Prompto felt bad about. 

He was always filled with a sense of guilt and sadness when he cancelled on them, but he couldn't seem to pull himself together enough to go out lately. He was barely making it out to _work_ as it was, let alone going anywhere else in public just for fun - or rather, what was _supposed_ to be fun. Almost every social situation gave him anxiety, the kind that bubbled around in his stomach and made his chest ache with worry even if he knew there was nothing logical to be worried about.

In the past, he'd tried to just push it down and ignore it, jumping in to things that made him anxious because he knew that the benefits would outweigh the initial anxiety - nothing bad would happen, he'd get to see his friends and enjoy spending time with them, and perhaps have a fun adventure.

Ever since the end of summer, however, he had cancelled so often because he just couldn't work himself up to getting out of his house without having a panic attack. And while his anxiety was calming down as a result of not going out with them, the guilt had started setting in and making him feel worse every time he changed his mind about hanging out with Seifer, Fuu, and Rai.

He _knew_ that he wasn't being a good friend to them. Of course they were getting sick of his anxiety; it stopped him from spending time with them, and wasn't that the main purpose of friendship in the first place? Having someone you cared about to hang out with? 

Prompto closed his eyes as they began to water, squeezing them tightly and reminding himself he had to keep it together. If he cried while they had this conversation, that was just another thing Seifer would look down on him for. He would look even _weaker_ in his eyes. 

"I know, I'm sorry - " he started while Seifer seemed to have taken a break in his frustrated rant, but he found he couldn't get any more words out. 

He heard Seifer sigh into the speaker, one of those sighs that implied Prompto was somehow letting him down once more just in this phone conversation. How could that be true? He couldn't see him crying, and his voice hadn't betrayed him ( _yet_ , anyhow). 

"Look, Prompto... To be honest, I'm _tired_ of you. You're like... this little _kid_ who's afraid of everyone and everything and it just pisses me off. So..." he sighed again, as if it pained him to say the next words: "I don't really wanna hang out with you anymore." 

Prompto's heart was now racing what felt like a mile a minute, the speed he was used to reaching after going on runs. He was like a _'little kid'_...? 

Seifer was right. He _was_ afraid of everything. How sad was it that he couldn't even deny it?

Alas, Prompto still tried to clear his throat and speak, a last resort to get Seifer to give him another chance, even if he didn't deserve it. 

"But - Wait, Seifer, _please_ just - " He blinked and the tears slid down his cheeks, wet saltiness that stung as much as the words Seifer had flung at him. This couldn't be happening. Maybe this was just a horrible nightmare he'd wake up from and everything was really okay... he wasn't losing his only friend. 

"Have a good fuckin' life," was the sarcastic response ground out by Seifer. 

It seemed it wouldn't matter what he did or didn't say; Seifer had just made it pretty damn clear that he was over their friendship and didn't want to hear any more excuses coming out of Prompto's mouth, let alone a final 'goodbye' (or his pathetic begging not to give up on him). 

"Maybe I'll see you around sometime, Prompto," Seifer huffed, as if that were the worst possible thing that could happen to him. "But honestly, you're just  _too much_."

And those final few words hurt the most. 

There was the tell-tale clicking sound of his hanging up; he didn't even give Prompto a chance to say goodbye. Then came the dial tone that sounded strangely like the droning of a heart monitor after someone's heart had stopped beating. 

How fitting. 

Prompto spluttered through his tears, pitiful whimpers escaping his lips as he dropped his phone onto his desk with a loud smacking sound. Sobs shook his body as he covered his face in his hands and shook his head back and forth, in disbelief at the conversation he'd just had with Seifer and completely distraught over his choice of words: He was _'too much.'_

That seemed to be a consensus among all the people he'd ever been close to in his life. It explained why his parents hated him and why his friends gave up on him, why he somehow always ended up alone, crying in his bedroom without a soul there to comfort him. 

He rubbed at his eyes and nose and grabbed the blankets that covered his body, heading over to his bed and collapsing onto it, curling into a ball as the tears continued flowing freely down his cheeks in the way he was so used to (if not every day, every night, silently wetting his pillow). Crying was his way of bleeding out. 

Minutes ticked by, but Prompto had no perception of time passing; he could only focus on the emptiness in his gut and the seemingly never-ending stream of his tears. He had somehow managed to calm down enough that sobs were no longer wracking his body; they'd been replaced by tiny hiccups and whines here and there.

He sniffled, slowly sitting up in his bed to grab a handful of tissues from the box on the bedside stand. He scrubbed away at the snot gathering above his lip and blew his nose several times, chucking the tissues onto the floor haphazardly. He took a few deep breaths and eyed his previously abandoned Playstation controller, swallowing hard and picking it up. 

Kingdom Hearts would be a welcome distraction from the pain. 

He unpaused his game and started running around, looking for a save point in Halloween Town. 

He was in the middle of fighting off a few hordes of Heartless when a notification popped up on the top of his screen: _One new message from 'insomniac_.' 

Prompto's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. He had no idea who that was, so he was definitely curious as to what this user had to say to him. 

He sniffed and maneuvered Sora around a little more, heading into the graveyard where he knew there was a glowing green save point waiting for him to step into. After making sure the save was successful, he closed the application and went to his messages instead. 

There was a message from someone under the gamer tag _'insomniac,'_ sitting at the top of his otherwise blank message folder. He knew Seifer had a Playstation, but for some reason, he'd never added Prompto as a friend, and he certainly hadn't messaged him on here before. There was absolutely no reason that Seifer would be messaging him _now_ , after he'd just shoved Prompto out of his life in a pretty permanent-sounding way. 

> **holy shit you have so many trophies**

It brought the smallest of smiles to Prompto's face. He clicked on the message and responded: 

> _Haha thank you!! They are essentially my proudest accomplishments in life!!_

This person probably thought Prompto was joking. If they knew that were the truth, they would most likely never talk to him again because of what a huge fucking loser he was. 

> **judging by the many kingdom hearts ones you have, maybe you could give me pointers on the part i'm stuck on?**

Prompto thought about it for a moment and came to the conclusion that this user must have just been scrolling through people who were online and noticed that Prompto played similar games to them. He'd done that before himself, after all, purely out of boredom; he'd never actually started up a conversation with anyone. Maybe this guy (or girl) was just bored out of their mind and had nothing better to do than scroll through the online user list. That notion made Prompto feel slightly better - this might be someone he could _relate_ to for a change. 

> _I'm actually playing KH2 right now xD_
> 
> _So yeah sure thing!! Which game??_

The fellow gamer's replies came in fairly quickly, one after the other: 

> **haha nice!**
> 
> **i'm playing the first game. i completely forgot how to beat ansem lol**
> 
> **he has so much fucking health and like four different stages. it's impossible i swear**

Prompto giggled at that, adjusting himself so he was sitting criss-crossed again, huddled in his warm blankets, sniffling every now and then due to his still runny nose. He certainly knew that boss fight; it had been a massive pain in the ass to get through every time he'd played Kingdom Hearts I. 

> _Nah you'll get there!! Have you played Kingdom Hearts before?_

He clicked on the user's profile page and saw a bunch of trophies, most of them from Assassin's Creed games and a few from Kingdom Hearts I. Prompto noticed that other than their game and trophy list, the only information they'd kept public was their gamer tag and gender (M).

Just then, another notification popped up and he clicked on the newest message: 

> **yeah this is my third time through. but i don't remember all the best ways to beat the bosses, you know? and i haven't played kh 1 in like... years**

Prompto immediately brought up the app for YouTube; there was a certain user on there that he'd consulted in similar situations when he'd gotten stuck while playing one of the Kingdom Hearts games. 

He searched for the boss fight and found that particular youtuber's video right away near the top of the suggestions. He copied the link to it and headed back to his messaging page, pasting it into the box and adding another little message to go along with it: 

> _This is a_ _good youtube video that explains how to go about beating Ansem!! :D_

He blinked at how fast 'insomniac' replied to him, once again: 

> **thanks! you're a life saver dude**
> 
> _Yeah no prob!! :D_

A few minutes passed in which Prompto stared blankly at the messaging screen, not bothering to start up his game again, already too enthralled in this conversation and too upset to get hyped up to continue playing Kingdom Hearts. Tonight had been an awful one, and he really didn't want his favourite game to be triggering for him if he started it up again now. Seifer's curt words were still replaying over and over in his head, and he couldn't shut out his voice if he tried. It was just like Seifer to have a demanding enough presence that even when he was no longer speaking in his ear through the phone, his voice wouldn't shut up within Prompto's head. 

It was frustrating, and Prompto distantly tried to make himself feel better by thinking of the ways Seifer had never exactly been the best friend to _him_ , either - this breaking of their friendship wasn't _all_ his fault, was it?

Seifer wasn't the nicest guy, he knew that. He was impatient, known for his quick temper and his uncouth sense of humour that usually entailed making fun of other people or bullying them in some way. 

After realising five minutes had passed with no reply, he added: 

> _Sorry I'm not tryin to be like annoying or anything_

Oh Gods, now this guy thought he was some freak who didn't have anyone to talk to other than a random stranger that he had _just_ started talking to ten minutes ago through his fucking Playstation. 

Prompto laughed bitterly at the thought, realising that was _exactly_ what was happening. His life was just that pathetic, he supposed. 

He was mildly surprised (and truthfully, _relieved)_ when he received three messages in quick succession. 

> **you're not annoying**
> 
> **you're really nice**
> 
> **seriously, thank you**

For the second time that night - though now in a much better situation and with a completely different person - Prompto had no idea how to respond. He found that he was smiling, though, and it was all thanks to this stranger's kindness. He quickly sent his gratitude and then added a few messages that made it clear he _knew_ he was being annoying and would stop bothering this guy from now on. 

> _Well thank *you* for the compliment!!_
> 
> _I'm sorry, I'll stop messaging you now lol_
> 
> _Gotta get back to Kingdom Hearts, right? :)_

He added a smiley face to make sure 'insomniac' knew it had nothing to do with him. Prompto just didn't want to bother him any more than he probably already had. 

Something tugged at his heart when a new message popped up just seconds later. 

> **are you ok?**

Prompto sent a reply without thinking: 

> _Not really but what's new haha_

He regretted sending it the second it went through, because it made him sound whiney. He groaned at his own idiocy. _Why am I the way I am?_  

> **you can talk to me if you want**
> 
> **i promise you're not bothering me**
> 
> _Well to keep the long story short I just lost my only friend_

Why was Prompto telling him that? This random person he was chatting with surely didn't want to deal with his shit. _Nobody_ did. 

> **what happened?**
> 
> **you don't have to tell me if you don't want to**

Prompto sucked in a breath. His vision blurred with the tears gathering in his eyes, but they didn't fall. 

> _I was too much to handle and I wasn't a good friend to him, so it's my own fault._
> 
> **you said 'only friend' ?**
> 
> _Kinda lame but yeah, he was the only one_
> 
> **i disagree**
> 
> _??_
> 
> **think of it as something good that's come out of this shitty evening - you've gained a new friend :)**

Prompto blinked and one tear finally fell and landed gently upon his leg. Why was this person being so nice to him? He didn't even _know_ him and yet he wanted to be his _friend?_ Surely he didn't mean it ... was he just messing with him? 

> _Haha thanks_
> 
> _:P_

He certainly wasn't expecting the next few replies. 

> **really. if you ever wanna talk i'm on here a lot lol**
> 
> **and i get lonely sometimes**
> 
> **seems like a win-win for the both of us :) **

Gods, this guy had no idea what that meant to him... 

> _Thank you._
> 
> **noctis :)**
> 
> _??_
> 
> **my name**
> 
> _Oh!_
> 
> _Well thank you, Noctis!! ^_^_
> 
> **what's your name?**

Prompto didn't know why his reaction was to sign off quickly without answering, but that's exactly what he did. 

Though he had just started talking to this guy, who seemed kind and warm and everything Prompto needed in his life at the present moment (or the past few _years_ , if he were being perfectly honest with himself), he knew he had to stop talking to him as soon as possible. He couldn't get his hopes up that he had been _serious_ with his offer of friendship. 

He shut down his Playstation, watching the power button blink slowly before the white glow died out, thinking all the while that he needed to let go of any attachment that was already growing just from this one conversation with 'insomniac' - _Noctis,_ he'd told him his name was - because the temporary sadness at the missed opportunity for more conversations with him would be easier to deal with than the _emptiness_ that would stretch him thin should he continue talking to him, getting _closer_ to him...

Only to _let him down_ and be left behind, the same way he'd let down Seifer,Fuu, Rai, his parents... everyone who had eventually moved on from him. 

In hindsight, he supposed he really should've seen that phone call coming. 

Everyone he'd ever gotten attached to had left him out like a penny in the rain, letting him slowly rot away. He wasn't _worth_ enough to actually be  _missed_ from anyone's life, and Noctis would be no different. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Seifer an even bigger asshole than he is in canon. Which is ironic because I actually love him a lot. 
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts if you feel so inclined. 
> 
> ありがとうございます ♥ 
> 
> ホープ


	3. Noctis ☽

Noctis had meant to just turn over in bed, but he overshot it by a margin, enough to tumble onto the floor. 

"Fuck," he murmured, and as he sat up slowly with all the blood rushing back to his head, Ignis knocked on his bedroom door. 

"Everything alright?" he asked, concerned voice carrying through. 

"Uh, yeah," Noctis laughed. "Fell out of bed." 

A pause, and he could hear Ignis’s smile when he asked, "Again?" 

Noctis snorted. "Again," he sighed, just loud enough for his friend to hear beyond the door. He rubbed at his elbow and ass where he'd landed the hardest - damn, the hardwood floor - and stood, pulling out his clothes and heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day. 

After he'd showered, changed his clothing, and brushed his teeth, he headed out to the kitchen to eat breakfast, where he found Ignis standing next to the coffee machine, waiting for the beeping that signified the hot beverage was ready. 

"Weren't you going to finish your lab this morning?" Noctis asked curiously as he took out a bowl and spoon and sat down at the kitchen counter. 

Ignis chuckled, grabbing Noctis's favourite cereal from the pantry and handing it over along with the milk, sighing when he watched Noctis pour a large portion of the bag's contents into his bowl. 

"I still cannot believe you consider that a good breakfast," Ignis murmured. 

Noctis enjoyed only the most sugary breakfast cereals that held no nutritional value whatsoever. But this one was the worst because of how he ate it.

Whenever he purchased a new box, he'd open it up and carefully separate the mini marshmallows and chocolate pieces from the wheat flakes, putting them into two bags, one of which he handed off to Ignis and one of which he placed back into the cereal box for himself. Ignis was glad that he only had to watch Noctis eat breakfast every once in a while on weekends, because every time he did so, he felt sick to his stomach (even though _he_ wasn't the one subjecting himself to pure candy for his morning meal). 

Noctis laughed and shrugged. "Tastes good. I don't care if it's healthy. Now answer my question. Lab?" 

Ignis shook his head and smiled, pouring himself a cup of steaming coffee. "We completed the lab." 

"What? When?" 

"I met up with my lab partner at eight. It's amazing how much one can get done if they get up before noon," he said pointedly. 

"It's also amazing what a person _can't_ do when he stays up all night because of his sleep disorder," Noctis scoffed in reply. 

"Touché. How late were you up last night?" he asked, preparing himself for the answer that he knew would make him cringe. 

"Eh, four-ish?" 

Before Ignis could ask any follow-up questions, Noctis asked a question of his own, eyeing the deep green mug Ignis was clutching like a lifeline. 

"What number mug is that?" 

Ignis paused for but a moment before recovering - "I beg your pardon?" he asked, though Noctis knew him well enough to know that he had definitely heard the question. 

"How many cups of coffee have you had this morning?" Noctis asked with a growing smile. 

Ignis sighed. "This will be my fourth." 

Noctis laughed. "Yikes, Iggy! And it's not even one!" 

His longtime friend pinched the bridge of his nose irritably. "Well, we all have our vices," he retorted, shifting his eyes to Noctis's disgusting concoction of milk, chocolate, and marshmallows. 

"Subtle," Noctis chuckled, continuing to chew happily on the soggy cereal. "So... winter break is coming up in less than a month," he said casually. "Any plans?" 

Ignis sighed. "Noctis..." he started exasperatedly. 

"What? What's so wrong with asking about your plans?" he asked innocently, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. 

"You're referring to Gladio and we both know it, so drop the innocent act," he replied sharply. 

Noctis smirked. "So? Do you?" 

His companion picked up the newspaper in front of him and began perusing it. (Ignis was possibly the only person left in the world under the age of, well, forty, who read the godsdamn newspaper every day.) 

Noctis snorted. "I know you're not actually reading that," he quipped as he leaned over his shoulder to inspect the page he had turned to at random. "That's the sports section," he pointed out, not bothering to hide his knowing grin. 

Ignis sighed, glancing at Noctis sheepishly, knowing he'd been caught. "I _do_ hate sport," he muttered, mostly to himself. 

"When are you going to admit your feelings for him?" Noctis asked, in awe at how stubborn the two of them were. 

"What feelings?" Ignis murmured nonchalantly. Noct gave him a look that read _I know you think I'm an idiot but I'm not_ that _dumb._

"Oh, you don't have feelings for him? Huh. Then why do you always stare at him like you want him to shove his di- " 

Noctis couldn't even finish his sentence - he burst out laughing when Ignis choked on his coffee and spluttered as it dribbled down his chin. His face flared red as he grabbed a napkin and glared daggers at Noctis. 

Watching him wipe the coffee off of his chin and clear his throat in an effort to compose himself was enough entertainment for Noct's entire day. He finished his cereal quickly, putting his dishes away when Ignis finally spoke again. 

"Do you feel well-rested?" he asked, slightly sullen as his skin had cooled down from the furious blush. Noctis knew it was his way of drawing the attention away from himself and any mention of Gladiolus.

(Plus, he always inquired about Noctis's sleep, due to equal parts curiosity and concern. He didn't admit it out loud very often, but he was touched by Ignis's mother hen sort of attitude; it was something he often pretended annoyed him - and sometimes it did - but that he also really appreciated about his longtime friend.)

"Not really," Noctis shrugged. "I never really do, though. I mean. Occasionally I get a good night's sleep but most of the time I wake up feeling exhausted."

He supposed he was sort of used to it by now. But that didn't mean it wasn't frustrating. Oh, how he loved sleep... The Gods must be playing a mean practical joke on him, treating him to insomnia like this. Just because he lived in a city of the same name didn't mean he deserved a sleep disorder! 

Ignis hummed around his mug, sipping daintily as ever, as though he were far too composed and sophisticated to spit it out and drool over himself like he had a minute earlier. 

"What time did you initially retire?" he asked in his classic, formal tone. 

Noctis thought back to last night - it felt quite long ago now - and recounted the events: "Well, I took my medicine around nine, tossed and turned for a while, then decided I should just distract myself, so I played some Kingdom Hearts." 

His friend nodded in understanding, remembering Noctis had mentioned he'd been stuck on some part of his game for a while. "Did you end up winning that fight?" he asked, wondering if he'd phrased that correctly.

He had never really gotten into any video games, so he wasn't sure what Noctis meant when he rambled on and on about Kingdom Hearts, but he knew just from how often he played and talked about it that it was definitely his favourite. That or Assassin's Creed. 

After a few seconds with no reply, he looked up at Noctis, noting a small smile on his face while his eyes shifted here and there, as though he were deep in thought about something or other.

"Noct?" he said, trying to regain his attention. 

His friend blinked, coming back to the present. "Oh, yeah. I did. Sorry, I was just thinking about something." 

"Care to share?" 

Noctis laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I ended up talking to someone about Kingdom Hearts and they - he - helped me with that part. So, yeah. That was really nice of him." 

Ignis raised an eyebrow. "Who were you talking to?" 

"I don't know," he admitted, laughing nervously. "I mean, I only know his gamer tag. _'Chocoboy96,'"_ he said, using air quotes and laughing a little. He thought that was a clever name.

"I asked him what his name was but uh, I guess he had to go or something - he went offline." He tried to say it nonchalantly but a part of him felt a little disappointed that he'd gone offline so quickly after Noctis had sent that message. Had he even read it? 

"You just started up a conversation with a stranger?" Ignis asked, mildly surprised. He'd always known Noctis to be quite shy when it came to meeting new people. Then again, he supposed it might feel quite different to talk online. 

Noctis was annoyed with himself when he felt his cheeks warm at Ignis's inquiry. "It's not that weird!" he protested. "I was just... bored and lonely, you know? And he was online and had - he has so many trophies, Iggy! Like, I swear he has _all_ the trophies for _every_ Kingdom Hearts game. It's insane." He shook his head to himself, still thoroughly impressed by that trophy list.

"Trophies... Does that mean he's won all the games?" Ignis asked, and Noctis almost put a hand to his heart at how lost he looked. It never failed to make him smile when Ignis asked questions that made it clear just how clueless he was when it came to video games. 

"Uh, kinda. I mean, you don't really 'win' Kingdom Hearts, you just play through the story but there are lots of extra mini games and challenges you can try and as you go through, you get trophies depending on the skill level and difficulty and stuff..." he trailed off, knowing this was essentially gibberish to Ignis. 

"Do you think you'll talk to him again?" 

Noctis paused for a moment, thinking of how to respond to that particular question. 

He definitely _wanted_ to talk to 'Chocoboy' again. And after he'd mentioned he had lost his friend, Noctis felt an even stronger urge to keep up conversation with him.

It wasn't that he felt like he  _had_ to be there for his fellow Playstation user, but he truly  _wanted_ to be. He'd enjoyed talking to him already; he was very nice and gave Noctis a really warm feeling that he had a hard time explaining, even in his own mind. 

On the other hand, however, he wasn't sure if the guy wanted to continue any conversation. It had seemed like he was genuinely grateful for Noctis's proposed friendship, but he had also logged off quite quickly when he'd simply asked him his name.

Noctis hadn't thought that question was too personal, and of course he'd given out his own name first. But then again, they were both strangers to each other and perhaps he felt uncomfortable giving out even that tiny bit of personal information. 

Noct shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was probably overthinking it. 

"I want to," he decided on. "For sure," he said, already thinking of the best way to proceed with his online companion. He had to trust that he wanted a friend, too. It seemed like he really did, and Noctis wanted to be that for him. 

Ignis smiled softly at the quietly hopeful tone. He was glad Noctis seemed to be determined to continue conversing with this gamer; he knew he could use another friend.

Though he and the other members of their little group tried to be there for Noctis as much as they could, they were all quite busy with their own things, mostly involving school.

Sometimes Noctis didn’t want to go out, and though Ignis didn’t mind staying in with his flatmate, Aranea and Gladiolus were far from being homebodies and loved going out and adventuring. Noct usually ended up tagging along simply because he wanted to be included and enjoyed hanging out with his friends even in scenes that weren't ideal for his introverted personality.

Ignis wished he could be present at the apartment more often to spend time with Noctis, but he was arguably the busiest of all four of them, what with his intense workload and double major. He and Noctis were also on quite different schedules (even though they attended the same University). 

Plus, with Noct's sleep troubles that had sprung up six or so months back, he wasn't always up for going out and about because he was so tired all the time. And he woke up quite late, of course; it was a rarity for him to fall asleep before four in the morning. 

Perhaps, Ignis thought to himself, especially if this Playstation user were a bit of a night owl, he would be available to Noctis when he couldn’t sleep or even just when he was staying at home when Ignis, Aranea, and Gladiolus were otherwise occupied.

Maybe this 'Chocoboy' was exactly who Noctis needed when he felt lonely or restless lying in bed at night.

Ignis certainly hoped so.


	4. Prompto ☀

He'd stacked bookshelves for the past few hours, used to the same old routine. Some days felt a bit boring and dry but others were calming.

Today was one of the duller days. It wasn't a particularly nice day out and not a lot of special events were going on at the library, so there weren't many people reading books, studying, or watching their children as they picked out a handful of stories to bring home for a week or two. 

In any other situation, Prompto preferred there not to be many people around, but there was something about the library that had always made him feel rather comfortable with the people who frequented it. Perhaps it was because some of them he had gotten to know over the years or because he really liked kids.

This was the one environment he could sit, stand, or walk around comfortably in besides his own home. Though some days he felt quieter or more anxious than others, he never had much of a problem interacting with people here.

He got along well with the other employees and they all knew about his anxiety, so if he needed to take a few more breaks to calm himself down or felt like putting books onto their designated shelves rather than sitting at the front desk and helping people find what they were looking for during any particular shift, they understood. He was very grateful for that. 

Prompto continued walking along the shelves with his cart, smiling at the light squeaking of the wheels whenever he turned a corner. 

The sky turned darker and darker within the thirty minutes he had left before six o' clock, and the lights hanging from high ceilings clicked on automatically above Prompto's head. As winter approached, the daylight didn't last long, and though that wasn't Prompto's favourite thing in the world, the positive was that he could use it to signify the end of his shift at the library (at least during this time of year). 

He finished up with the science fiction section and wheeled the cart back to storage, grabbing his small backpack that he carried everywhere - not that he was going a lot of places these days - before he waved to his fellow workers and headed out the metal-framed door and into the icy chill of November. He carried the backpack around his home, too, as a kind of security blanket. Though it embarrassed him, it held several helpful items that he may find useful should he have an _Incident_ , as he so lovingly labeled them in his head. 

As he walked home, hugging his jacket around his middle and shivering as the wind made strange whistling sounds around him, blowing his bangs into his face, his mind ran through what he'd eaten that day. 

Though he was quite diligent when it came to his scheduled meals - he even had reminders set on his phone to indicate when it was time to start preparing his next meal - he hadn't quite gotten out of one of the bad habits that he was supposed to drop surrounding food: analysing what he ate. 

Seeing a therapist, psychiatrist, and dietician in tandem was one of the very few things his parents supported him on. They had the bills sent to their home rather than Prompto's, after all, and though he was thankful for that, he couldn't help but feel slightly bitter when he was occassionally reminded that the only reason they were paying for these services was not to help him out but rather to "fix" him.

There was nothing quite like having parents whose mission it was to sort you out. Prompto figured their half-assed efforts were mainly in order to avoid awkwardness and shame when other parents and neighbours inquired about their overly anxious kid who had seemingly dropped off the face of Eos after graduating high school. 

The advice had been recommended by all three professionals that he went to see regularly (his therapist every week, the other two once a month), and Prompto was _trying_ , he really was. But it was so hard to bite a habit that had been instilled in him since he started high school. He didn't write any of it down anymore, didn't calculate calories, didn't obsess over every little bite. But he couldn't help but run through a mental list every now and then. 

He sighed as he approached his apartment building, trudging up the steps and wiping his shoes off on the mat before pressing the lift button that would take him to the third floor. 

Just as he had been anticipating, his reminder to start cooking dinner made a 'ping' noise on his phone, and by the time he got into his own place and shut the door behind him, practically throwing himself onto his bed, he had already gone back and forth a dozen times in his mind on whether or not to eat tonight. 

_You should eat something._

_Not hungry._

_You have to eat._

_Too tired to make anything._

_You can have something simple._

_Don't feel like eating._

_Can't go back to the way it used to be._

_It's just one meal._

_You're healthier now._

_Gonna go to bed soon anyway._

_You deserve nourishment._

_I'll eat in the morning._

Similar thoughts twirled around in a loop in his head as he kicked his shoes off onto the floor and got up to change into pajamas. He scraped a hand through his fringe and turned on his Playstation, plopping onto his bed with controller in hand. Daily therapy was in session. 

He yawned and checked the time in the upper righthand corner of the screen, distantly surprised when he saw the bold white text stating it was only 18:54. He had no idea why he was so tired when it wasn't even late evening yet. 

As he scrolled over to the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix icon, his eyes were drawn to the glowing notification bubble stating he had three notifications. He clicked on that instead, ignoring the latest one proclaiming he'd installed the newest software update successfully and scrolling to the messages he'd received, a pleasant flutter growing in his chest when he saw who they were from. 

> **you totally don't have to tell me your name if you don't want to, didn't mean to pressure you.**
> 
> **hope you're having a good day :)**

The messages had been sent earlier that afternoon, while Prompto had been at work, but he also noticed the little blue dot indicating Noctis was online right now. 

> _You didn't pressure me!! Just stuff going on last night, I was in a bad place. Ended up going to sleep like right after I read your message._
> 
> _My name's Prompto ^_^_
> 
> **i'm really sorry you had such a rough night.**
> 
> _It's okay._

Prompto figured he should change the subject quickly before he started to get lost in thoughts of losing his friends. Of course it was a sore subject only a day later. He was sure Noctis would understand his need to move away from that line of conversation. 

> _ I see you're currently playing Assassin's Creed! Nice choice, I wholeheartedly approve!! _
> 
> ** you have to play the newest one **
> 
> _ How do you know I haven't? :)  _
> 
> ** i was just scrolling through your game list  **
> 
> ** and now i realise how creepy that sounds  **
> 
> _Nah, the only way you could creep me out is if you're like a really old dude who wants to get freaky with younger players _
> 
> _You're not a creepy old dude, right?? _

It couldn't hurt to ask. 

> ** imagine if i went offline right after you asked that. haha **
> 
> _Oh em gee!! Now that would be creepy _
> 
> ** i'm 20  **
> 
> ** and if you're making an assumption that i'm lying, i don't blame you. lots of creeps out there  **
> 
> _While that's definitely true, I like to believe that most people are good and honest and you are no exception! _
> 
> ** well thank you for that, chocoboy :) **

Ah, right. How could he forget his own embarrassing user name? 

> _Haha sorry my gamer tag is so lame!! I made it when I was like ten :) _
> 
> ** nah i like it  **
> 
> ** but your real name is better  **
> 
> ** i've never met anyone named Prompto. that's a cool name o(^▽^)o **

He smiled at that, a little surprised when he felt his face growing warmer. _That compliment wasn't anything to get flustered over. Chill out!_ He was about to start typing a response when another message came in. 

> ** wait a second  **
> 
> _??  _
> 
> ** maybe you're a creepy old dude ... **

Prompto actually laughed out loud at that particular message. 

> _ Dun dun dun!!  _
> 
> _ Just kidding. Funnily enough I'm twenty just like you!! Cross my heart (*^ω^*) _
> 
> ** i'm gonna choose to believe you too ;)**
> 
> _ Haha thank you!!  _
> 
> **do you go to university?**
> 
> _Yup. But I only take online classes_
> 
> **i'm in uni, too. second year**
> 
> _Me too!!_
> 
> _Maybe it's fate or something lol_

Prompto cringed the second his last message went through.  _Fuck, that sounded tremendously lame and clingy and weird, what the hell am I saying?!_ _Now he's never going to talk to me again..._

He let out a heavy sigh as he waited for a reply he wasn't sure would come. 

> **well, we have plenty of time to find out**   **:)**

His eyes widened at Noctis's message and he swallowed past a lump in his throat, feeling his stomach trying to tie itself into knots. They weren't the angry, suffocating knots that came with every panic attack, but a strange sensation in his gut that - though it definitely made him feel a bit queasy - filled him with a warmth that he hadn't felt in a long, _long_ time. 

And when he recognized the feeling, Prompto's eyes watered.

_Joy._


	5. Noctis ☽

Noctis blinked up at his ceiling, sighing as he held his phone up above him to check the time for the fifth or sixth time that night. He groaned upon seeing the glowing numbers on a too-bright screen: _0:52_. 

Ignis had gone to bed nearly some two-ish hours earlier, wanting to get a good night's sleep before the school week started again tomorrow morning.

The two of them had spent most of the surprisingly relaxing (minus completing necessary assignments he had put off the entire weekend) Sunday together, so Noctis was annoyed with himself for the loneliness that was beginning to sink into his gut.

It wasn't logical that he should feel so alone when he'd been with his friend for many hours earlier that day. Why did this always happen to him at night? Even if he'd had a great day, surrounded by his friends, the moment he climbed into bed, a switch (other than his bedroom light switch) was flipped, taking his mind to all sorts of dark, isolating places. 

And with nobody to talk to throughout the hours of the night that he _should_ be sleeping (but couldn't), he felt himself going a bit crazy. 

Noctis checked the time on his phone yet again, not surprised when his eyes adjusted to the dark to read _0:55,_ meaning only three measly minutes had passed since he last checked. He snorted at the picture of himself, Aranea, and Gladio that served as both his lock screen and phone background.

In the photo (taken by a supremely sober Ignis a few weeks ago, at their frequented local bar), Noctis was laughing hysterically at some crude pick-up line Aranea had practically shouted at him as a joke, Aranea was in the midst of spilling some of her loosely-clutched drink onto the already sticky floor, head tossed back in laughter, and Gladio was looking blearily into the camera as if he were toasting Ignis with his own drink. Noctis had only had a few drinks, but the picture was firm evidence of the other two hooligans being wasted out of their minds.

This was the only photo they had of the wild night, as it had taken precisely two more minutes before they were kicked out for being too rowdy.

That had been... a rather  _interesting_  night out, to say the least.

Noctis remembered feeling slightly embarrassed, but he'd been  _just_ tipsy enough that he didn't care as much as he probably should have when the bartender threatened to call the cops. Ignis, on the other hand, had been too mortified to step foot in the bar ever since. Aranea and Gladio were convinced they'd be able to get him back there before the end of winter break, however. Noctis had stupidly made a bet with them on it, believing in Iggy's strong sense of pride over his desire to appease Aranea and even his desire to pleaseGladio. 

Only time would tell, it seemed.

As Noctis idly clicked his phone screen on and off, refreshing it to check the time every twenty seconds, not expecting any messages at this time on a Sunday night, his mind traveled to his new friend, of whom he wished he could be talking to right now.

He'd been so happy that Prompto had responded to his afternoon messages shortly after he and Ignis had eaten dinner, but he'd gone offline after only a half-hour or so of chatting. Noctis had tried not to completely deflate at the blue dot next to his gamer tag turning gray.

He was pleasantly suprised that they had their ages and school experience in common, too; that was definitely a bonus. Of course, Noctis wouldn't _really_ have minded if he were a little older or younger (unless, as Prompto himself had put it, he were talking to a 'creepy old dude'). But it was nice to have another way they could relate to each other. 

He sent a silent prayer up to the Six that Prompto would message him back soon... He really enjoyed talking to him. There was just something about him that was both captivating and calming to Noctis, and he had truthfully found himself wanting to talk to him ever since Ignis had gone to bed. Or, okay, maybe even before that. 

Turning on his Playstation, hearing the tiny 'beeping' noise it made as the white light glowed, watching the PS logo appear on his television, he let out a little sigh. He loved his video games, he really did, but playing them at night didn't seem to make the time pass as much as it did during the day. Why was that? 

Plus, he was prepared to see an empty notification bubble, sure he wouldn't have any new messages from Prompto at this time of night. 

But wait... 

 _Fuck Assassin's Creed!_ Noctis didn't care about another bloody stealth mission right now! _Prompto's online!_ He didn't believe much in the Astrals, but maybe tonight was a sign from the Gods that they indeed existed and had listened to him! 

He took a few seconds to breathe, calming his increased heart rate and taking several deep breaths as he made himself completely comfortable on his bed, crossing his legs and settling his weight back into the multiple pillows that he propped up against the headboard for his back. Should he wait for Prompto to say something first? Or should he just go for it and message him again? 

He tapped his controller against his lips as he thought of what to say, still marveling at the fact that his friend was even awake right now, let alone playing games.

Noctis's heart nearly stopped when he received a message first and he let out an embarrassing, happy noise from the back of his throat before clearing it and reminding himself that Ignis could probably hear him from his bedroom next door. 

> _Oh hey there buddy :D_
> 
> **hey! surprised you're awake :)**
> 
> _I love staying up late when I have the energy to!! But don't you have classes in the morning??_
> 
> **nah first one is at eleven. #blessed**
> 
> _You lucky duck! :P Then again I'm pretty lucky cuz I can just do my work at any time of day ^ - ^_

He couldn't help but think to himself with a little smile - _'Lucky duck'_ ... _That ... that's so cute._ He didn't know anyone besides Prompto who would use such a cute expression.

Then his eyes were drawn to his phone that lit up next to his foot on the bed. He squinted at it and realized it was nothing but an app update notification. But as he stared down at his phone and then looked back at the tv screen, Noctis had a thought. 

He bit his lip, wondering if it would be odd to ask for Prompto’s phone number. Maybe if he gave his out first, it wouldn’t seem as weird? 

But then Noctis started to worry that would come across as too forward or personal. 

He didn’t want to seem as though he were hitting on him or something. He just wanted to talk to him as much as he could, and using their phones would be easier and more mobile for the both of them. 

> **can i give you my number? we could text each other ( ^ω^ )**
> 
> _Do you wanna text cuz it's easier??_
> 
> **yeah :)**
> 
> _Are you sure it's not just becuz you_ _wanna talk to me more often?? ( *｀ω´)_
> 
> **whaaaat? *xigbar voice* as if!**
> 
> _Jk jk_
> 
> _Oh em gee I love him!! Seriously though, I was totally just kidding!! (^O^)_

There was a chance that Prompto hadn't been joking at all; maybe it had been a genuine question. He could tell he was teasing him, of course, but if he had been reading their conversations correctly, he thought that everything was going really well between them, and that Prompto _wouldn't_ find it strange at all that Noctis had the desire to talk to him more often. And if he were _really_ lucky, he might even feel the same way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cut this chapter off where I did because I wanted the next part to be told from Prompto's perspective. I apologise for its being so short. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Hope


	6. Prompto ☀

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps we can pretend that it hasn't been nearly six months since I've updated?

Prompto had been concentrating on rereading the messages he and Noctis had shared so far when he received a new notification from his Playstation. His heart lurched pleasantly. 

He'd sent a light-hearted message implying that the reason his new friend had brought up exchanging numbers in the first place was because Noctis wanted to talk to him more - as opposed to simply the convenience of texting - but he felt a little ridiculous after sending it because he _really_ wanted it to be true. Was that too much to hope for? 

He scrolled down to Noctis's newest reply messages and read them a good five or six times with his mouth hanging slightly open in surprise, feeling especially giddy when he took in the phone number tacked on at the end of the thread. 

> **honestly that's 95% of why i asked**
> 
> **the other 5% is just 'cuz it's easier' (^ ^)**

He turned off his Playstation, any potential gaming endeavours forgotten as he stretched to pick up his phone from his bedside stand. Prompto saved the number to his contacts eagerly and almost immediately went to compose a new message, biting his lip as he entered Noctis's name into the recipient box. He could feel a flush of heat begin to crawl up his neck for reasons he didn't bother trying to pinpoint, going back and forth for a minute or two on what he should say before settling on a simple _'guess who :D'_ and waiting for his message to deliver. 

He tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach when three gray dots appeared on the open conversation page no more than thirty seconds later, suddenly feeling like he'd gotten a whole new burst of energy. 

Prompto had been exhausted when he first got home from work, but he'd talked to Noctis for a short amount of time before heading to his bedroom to take a nap. He had just woken up again around half past midnight, no longer so sleepy. He supposed he must have really screwed up his sleep schedule for the next day or so. 

But it was worth it; if he hadn't woken up in the middle of the night, he wouldn't have turned on his Playstation and seen that Noctis was online. 

He hadn't been able to look away from his phone while Noctis typed, so although his phone was on silent - and he didn't hear a 'ping' to signify Noctis's response - he saw it appear beneath his own message almost immediately. 

> 1:11 **hmm that's a tough one...**
> 
> 1:11 **hopefully i entered the right name into my contacts ;)**
> 
> 1:12 _Well that depends on what name you put there!! :D_

Noctis sent him a screenshot of his newly added contact - _Prompto ( ^ω^ ) . _

> 1:14 _Aww you put that cute little face next to my name!!_
> 
> 1:14 **it suits you :)**
> 
> 1:15 _You can add my family name too if you want??_
> 
> 1:15 **as long as you're comfortable telling me. you totally don't have to**
> 
> 1:15 _I am!!_
> 
> 1:15 _It's Argentum (^-^)_
> 
> 1:16 **dude**
> 
> 1:16 **your name is so dope (^O^) **
> 
> 1:16 _Thank you Noctis!! :D_
> 
> 1:17 _What should I put in for yours? Only if ya wanna tell me, of course!!_
> 
> 1:17 **course i'm gonna tell you, we're friends !**
> 
> 1:17 **lucis caelum**
> 
> 1:18 _Noctis Lucis Caelum!! Whoaaa *-* That's so cool!!_
> 
> 1:19 **thanks haha**
> 
> 1:19 **everyone i met throughout high school assumed i was a pretentious asshole because of my name. oh well ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ **
> 
> 1:20 _Well I know better ^ ^ And you are most certainly not a pretentious asshole!!_
> 
> 1:21 **aw thank you for that :3**   **lol**
> 
> 1:21 **how are you feeling?**
> 
> 1:22 _Pretty dang good actually!!_
> 
> 1:22 **good ! i'm relieved ^-^ did you have a better day than yesterday?**
> 
> 1:23 _Yeah. It was alright_
> 
> 1:24 _But I'm happy right now because I'm talking to you :P_

Prompto was trying to be honest. His anxiety wasn't horrible in the present moment, but he wasn't exactly one hundred percent in terms of his mental health. In comparison to how he would have been doing had he been up this late and _not_ been talking to Noctis, however, he felt great. 

And the little bit of anxiety that currently lingered within him wasn't negative. It was a happy, nervous sort of feeling rather than the terrifying feeling that unfortunately plagued him more often than not - the kind of anxiety that led to panic attacks that made it difficult for Prompto to _breathe,_  let alone function normally. He would take _this_ anxiety over the other any day. 

And most importantly, he really did feel happy when he talked to his new friend. Noctis had been so understanding and uplifting so far that Prompto didn't even regret sending that last message like he normally would have. Why not share his happy mood with Noctis? He might like knowing he's the source of it. 

But after a few minutes passed with no response, Prompto started to feel sick to his stomach. He quickly sent an apology in his embarrassment - 

> 1:28 _I'm sorry I didn't mean to weird you out, I'll stop bothering you if you want_
> 
> 1:28 **wait please don't go**
> 
> 1:29 **unless you're really tired**
> 
> 1:29 **i was just trying to think of a proper reply to your message ^-^**
> 
> 1:31 _Are you sure?? I feel like I'm being really annoying. Haha_
> 
> 1:31 **you're definitely not annoying**
> 
> 1:31 **i really like talking to you**
> 
> 1:32 _Ditto （＾∇＾）!! _
> 
> 1:33 **what have you been up to?**
> 
> 1:34 _I was at work most of the afternoon and evening_
> 
> 1:34 _And otherwise I just took a long nap haha_

Prompto cringed at his messages even as he sent them. His life was not particularly exciting and he knew it, but sincerely hoped it wouldn't put off his new friend. 

> 1:36 **where do you work?**
> 
> 1:36 _A library near my dinky apartment haha_
> 
> 1:37 **i live in an apartment too !**
> 
> 1:37 **do you have a roommate?**
> 
> 1:38 _No, I kinda wish I did tho!! Get lonely a lot_
> 
> 1:39 **me too. i mean i have a roommate but he's not usually here when i am. sometimes on weekends but even then it's kinda hit or miss**
> 
> 1:39 **do you like working at your library? sounds like it would be a pretty relaxed atmosphere for the most part :)**
> 
> 1:40 _Yes I actually do really love it!! You're right about the atmosphere._
> 
> 1:40 **you must be a big reader then huh?**
> 
> 1:41 _Yessiree ^ ^ Are you??_
> 
> 1:42 **i like reading but i'm kinda particular about the books i like**
> 
> 1:42 **i don't usually have a lot of patience with them so if what i'm reading isn't interesting right away, i tend to get bored haha**
> 
> 1:43 _Oh I can understand that!! :P_
> 
> 1:43 _I hope you don't feel like that talking to me tho_
> 
> 1:43 _I know I'm not interesting in the slightest. Lol_

There he went again, spilling his insecurities like wine on a carpet. 

> 1:44 **i definitely don't feel that way about you Prompto !**

Why did it make his heart skip a beat when Noctis addressed him by name just _in writing?_ Maybe it was the fact that he didn't seem to capitalise anything except for his name (something Prompto had noticed right away and taken great delight in). 

> 1:45 **i mean first of all, you're not a book (^_-) **

Prompto giggled at that before his nerves set in again, blue eyes glued to the dancing gray dots on his phone screen that meant Noctis had more to say. 

> 1:45 **and you *are* interesting Prompto**
> 
> 1:46 **annnd you're super sweet**
> 
> 1:46 **how could i ever get bored of you?**

If he'd thought his heart was racing before, he certainly didn't know it could beat as fast as it was now! He bit down on his lip as a wide smile lit up his face. Noctis really found him interesting? While Prompto didn't necessarily understand that, he accepted it as truth - there was no reason Noctis would lie to him. 

Plus, logically, Prompto knew that if Noctis truly found him boring, he wouldn't have made a point to keep messaging him or to get his number. He tried to push away the negative thought that crept up - reasoning that there was still time for him to become bored (or worse, to become agitated and overwhelmed by all of his issues). Either one of those nightmare options would no doubt lead to Prompto being left behind yet again. He quickly shook his head to clear it. 

And _'super sweet' ... ?_ Prompto could feel his cheeks heat up all over again as soon as his eyes scanned that part again. Noctis could've just said he thought Prompto was nice, like he had yesterday - which in and of itself was a compliment that made the blonde extremely happy. But his choice of words seemed significant somehow. (Or at least, Prompto certainly _hoped_ that was so.) 

> 1:49 _You're the sweet one, Noctis. <3 _

It was true, but why had he added the little heart at the end?! Noctis would probably think that was a bit much. He attempted to rectify this mistake - 

> 1:50 _I'm sorry haha. Just like ... thank you. !!_
> 
> 1:50 **Prompto ;-; you apologise so much !**
> 
> 1:51 **and you don't need to**
> 
> 1:51 _I just don't wanna sound too like clingy or anything_
> 
> 1:51 _Or too serious_
> 
> 1:52 **you don't sound clingy**
> 
> 1:52 **and though you also don't sound 'too serious,'** **i *do* take you seriously**
> 
> 1:53 **if that even makes sense ? XD**
> 
> 1:54 _!! Why are you so nice to me?? (〃ω〃) _
> 
> 1:56 **you wondering why tells me that you don't think you deserve it**
> 
> 1:56 **but you deserve kindness Prompto. even if you don't believe you do**
> 
> 1:57 _Noctis (ToT)_

Before he could formulate more of a response than this, his new friend sent him three more messages. 

> 1:57 **i can tell just by the way you text me** **that something or maybe many things have taken away your confidence**
> 
> 1:58 **and if my simple words of encouragement are surprising to you, i'm starting to think that people haven't treated you right**
> 
> 1:59 **but i promise you i will** **< 3 **

Prompto tried not to feel pathetic as his eyes moistened with tears. 

He generally felt that he had deserved the treatment he'd been given in his life. Maybe not so much from the bullies who'd picked on him back in elementary and junior high school, but by his parents and by old friends for certain - he could understand why they were so impatient and constantly frustrated with him. Most days he felt like he was nothing more than a disappointment to the people he cared about. 

He gently closed his eyes and let some of his tears fall with the surge of emotion coursing through him. Last night, his life seemed like an unhinged mess that was completely falling apart - like the feeling of being caught in a terrible storm with the wind howling, while being completely drenched in heavy sheets of freezing rain. 

But talking to Noctis was like seeing the sun again. While they were conversing, the clouds began to dissipate and the world became brighter once more. 

> 2:01 _I don't even know what to say_
> 
> 2:01 _That means a lot to me, Noctis_
> 
> 2:02 _Thank you. So so much!!_
> 
> 2:03 **(^-^) are you going to bed soon?**
> 
> 2:04 _Mayyybe but I might eat dinner first_
> 
> 2:04 _What about you??_
> 
> 2:05 **i'm probably not gonna be able to sleep for a good two hours haha**
> 
> 2:06 _Two hours! Why not?!_
> 
> 2:08 **i have insomnia >-< **
> 
> 2:09 _Oh no!! :( I'm sorry you have to deal with that :\_
> 
> 2:09 **haha it's ok i'm pretty used to it**
> 
> 2:10 _I hope you fall asleep easier tonight!!_
> 
> 2:10 _I will send you good sleepy vibes!!_
> 
> 2:11  _ (( _ _ ))..zzzZZ  _
> 
> 2:11 **aw thank you Prompto (´ω｀) **
> 
> 2:11 **wait you haven't had dinner yet?**
> 
> 2:12 _No haha_
> 
> 2:12 _I was going to have it earlier but I was too tired to make anything_
> 
> 2:13 **oh ok**
> 
> 2:13 **aren't you hungry ?**

Very. Prompto's stomach had been growling loudly ever since he'd woken up from his nap. But he didn't want to come across as gluttonous or anything, so he told the tiniest white lie. 

> 2:15 _A little, yeah_
> 
> 2:16 **why don't you get something to eat so you feel better? ^ ^ some pizza places are open 24 hours ! i know this from personal experience when i can't sleep and crave pizza at 3 am :3**
> 
> 2:17 _Maybe I will do that ^-^_
> 
> 2:18 **just make sure you get enough to eat before you fall asleep again, ok? :)**

Noctis didn't even know about his issues linked to food, and yet he still cared enough about Prompto's well-being to encourage him to eat. 

Prompto suddenly felt warm all over. 

 _Fuck,_ he was in so deep already. How he could already have feelings for this guy he'd just started talking to last night? 

His heart soared whenever he got a response from him and he'd reread all of the messages they'd shared so far multiple times. Maybe it was just that Prompto wasn't used to the attention? The fact that they had already found several ways in which they related to each other? Or was it the way Noctis talked to him? The genuine interest he seemed to place in him? 

Maybe it was because Prompto hadn't had a friend like this ... _ever._

He didn't know it was possible for a crush to develop so quickly, especially on someone he'd never met in person. But the fluttery feeling in his chest _meant_ something, and Prompto had a hunch that wherever Noctis was involved, it would be here to stay. 


End file.
